Portugal Day 1 – My Boots Were Not Made For Portugal

Day 1 (17/10/2008)

The rain fell when I disembarked from the EasyJet plane at Lisbon International Airport. The hotel was meant to be only 15 km from the airport but I had a nightmare finding it. Bus 22 takes me into central Lisbon and there was supposed to be a stop I had to get off at so I could walk to the hotel but I had no idea which stop it was and because it was night, I had no chance!

On bus 22 into the city, I had a piece of paper with me which said get off at this station. I showed this to the bus driver and asked him if the bus had already passed this stop. No, I wasn’t deaf but he said yes. I tried to get off the bus but he closed the door on me then re-opened it to let me out. I think it was a lack of understanding between each other because this stop was still miles away from the Hotel. I needed to learn some Portuguese.

I thought I was able to walk to the Hotel from the bus stop that I had disembarked from so I tried in vain in the rain and the nightmare of the cobbled footpaths. When these cobbled rocks are wet, it is very slippery and I have to tread carefully otherwise I will slip and fall flat on my face. You need to be even more careful when the street is steeper than that playground slide.

When I got fed up with the rain and the cobbled streets, I hailed a taxi and arrived at the hotel in no time at a measly cost of 5 euros. I should have taken a taxi to begin with instead of fighting with the map and the cobbled streets. I could have hopped on the bus 22 again but I had no change and nothing was opened.

The hotel was cheap at a cost of 50 euros for 2 nights. You get a bed, tv, cupboard and a basin. The bathroom and toilet was in the opposite room which was never occupied. The breakfast room was just outside your door. It’s not bad a bad price for a simple place to stay. It can get noisy in the morning when everyone is having breakfast but you should be up by that time ready for the day’s adventures.

smiles